Bill Russell, the legendary standout for the Boston Celtics wants to be sure that Donald Trump understands that it takes true courage to kneel.
On Saturday, Russell, 86, used Twitter to respond to comments made by Trump. He called Trump “divisive” and a “coward” for the comments he made about athletes kneeling during the National Anthem.
Russell tweeted that it “takes true courage 2 stand 4 what is right & risk your life in the midst of a #pandemic #Proud2kneel #BlackLivesMatter @MSNBC @BostonGlobe.”
Russell included a photo of himself kneeling in his post.
Russell’s comments came in response to a tweet that Trump had made stating that people should not protest “our Great American Flag.” Trump clearly does not understand exactly why athletes kneel. It has nothing to do with the flag instead it has always been about police brutality and racial injustice.
Trump was not alone in criticizing athletes that choose to kneel during the National anthem. Drew Brees, the quarterback of the New Orleans Saints received major backlash after claiming that athletes that kneel are disrespecting the American flag. Brees would later publicly apologize after several NFL players, including his own teammates, took great offense to his comments.
Trump also weighed in on the Brees controversy by scolding Brees for apologizing. Brees then released another statement attempting to explain to Trump that the protests are “not an issue about the American flag.”
